He's Just A Crazy Off The Track Thoroughbred

Embracing The Thoroughbred On And Off The Track

By: Claudia Lorena

Every year the thoroughbred racing industry breeds thousands of thoroughbred horses across the country. While it is nice to imagine that all of these horses end up being successful on the track, it is also extremely unrealistic. Only a small percentage of thoroughbreds make it and less than a quarter of that already small cut will ever get the chance to run in some of the most prestigious races that the sport of kings has to offer.

I am a firm believer that the connections of a horse will either make or break it. Like children, horses come into this world with unique personalities — some are timid, some are confident and others are a bit arrogant. It is a trainer’s job to gauge each and every horse in their barn in order to set up a training plan that meets individual needs. Unfortunately, not all trainers are able to do this and they train all of their horses the same way. Imagine if you were to treat a timid preschooler in the same firm manner you treat an arrogant one. An arrogant preschooler needs to be reminded that they are not always right and that there are rules they must learn to respect. Can you imagine what would result by using the same approach with the timid preschooler? Instead of bringing them out of their shell you will push them further in, your firm attitude will be too brash and you will eventually break them down. Horses are no different, yet as humans we seem to forget that they too have feelings. For the majority of thoroughbreds, timing and luck are simply not on their side. They end up in the wrong hands, are misunderstood and are never given the chance to reach their full potential.

Can you honestly say that Secretariat would have been the great race horse he is so well known for today if his connections had not fully understood him? If Lucien Laurin had kept an inexperienced jockey on him, he would have ruined Secretariat’s chance of ever running in the Triple Crown. If Penny Chenery had not been a hands-on owner, Secretariat would have had no voice and perhaps Lucien would have done things differently. If Ronnie Turcotte had not been fearless in the Belmont Stakes; had he not allowed Secretariat to duel with Sham; had he not risked everything for the chance to see what Secretariat was capable of doing on a mile and a half track, Secretariat would not have won the Belmont the way we so proudly remember today. He probably still would have won, but not by 31 lengths and certainly not in the same glorious manner. The right people came together at the right time, which brings me back to my original point—connections will either make or break a horse.

What about the unlucky ones, where do they end up? Well, the truly unlucky end up in places you dare not imagine, but that is a topic I view with a very heavy heart and one I will save for another day. The thoroughbreds that couldn’t get it right on the track, and had caring connections that wanted the best for them, tend to find new homes and new careers. If you’re a hunter/jumper, eventer, or ride dressage, you know what I’m talking about. Most off the track thoroughbreds will go on to become outstanding equine athletes pursuing fulfilling careers in the show world.

Easy peazy! The move from racing to another riding discipline seems like a smooth transition, right? Wrong! Sure, lightly raced off the track thoroughbreds—particularly slower and quiet tempered ones—can usually transition over with minimal complication. However, more often than not the transition is complete culture shock for both the horse and rider.

The standard explanation you will hear when you ride an ex-racehorse or see one misbehaving in the hunter/jumper world is, “he’s just a crazy off the track thoroughbred.” But, why is he crazy? What happened on the track? What do we not understand about where he came from? In all of my years riding at different hunter/jumper barns, I never once heard a solid explanation for any of these questions. Why doesn’t anyone care to elaborate?

Exhibit A: Growing up, I rode my fair share of ex-racehorses. My first time riding one, no one said anything. No big deal, it’s just another horse and I wasn’t concerned about it – until she took off with me at a full gallop. No joke, it was like we went from 0-60 in the blink of an eye. Needless to say, I was horrified. Thankfully, we were in an indoor arena, so after talking some sense into myself I steered her into the corner of the wall and she stopped. When I asked my trainer what I had done wrong guess what response I got. “She’s just a nutcase that came off the track,” nothing more, nothing less. Do you see the problem with that explanation? Other than the fact that she really didn’t explain ANYTHING, my trainer simply caused me to believe that all off the track thoroughbreds were helpless psychos. I was young, so I didn’t bother to ask more questions. After all, what did I know? She’s the trainer, I’m just the student. You get the picture.

Picking a fight with a 1200 pound animal, that knows nothing more than running like there’s no tomorrow, is a VERY bad idea. The second the horse grabs hold of that bit, you’re done. Say a prayer and hold on for dear life. No, the fence is not a dead end, it’s an obstacle the horse can see over and will likely jump with or without you – actually, depending on how aggravated the horse is, you might end up jumping it all on your own. Not like I know this from personal experience… or anything. Anyways! Lesson to learn from Exhibit A: If your ex-racehorse takes off on you in an indoor arena, the wall is your best friend.

So, how do you go about learning to deal with an OTTB? For starters, this isn’t a subject someone with zero notion of racing could ever fully comprehend, so find yourself a good trainer that is willing to invest the time in getting to know your horse’s history. If you or your trainer don’t know anything about racing, how could you possibly know what you’re dealing with when it comes understanding the mind of an off the track thoroughbred? Sure, it’s still a horse, but while your mind is on the show world his mind is on racing. It’s like trying to get a point across in English to someone that only speaks German — it’s not going to magically translate for either of you. Educate yourself! Learn where your horse comes from, how he was trained and how you can teach him to love his new career. Be patient, take it slow and remember to be kind. You’re asking him to forget everything that he knows and that is certainly no easy task.

Before I got involved with racing I had a very negative idea of thoroughbreds, especially OTTB’s. Now, after learning what they do on the track, seeing them work and put their heart into their training, I have a much better understanding and the utmost respect for them. Up until a year ago, I was one of those riders that had seemingly boycotted the breed. I didn’t know any better because I was completely ignorant on the matter. In the show world thoroughbreds face a lot of negative press. When compared to fancy imported warmblood breeds, thoroughbreds are almost completely invisible. It’s sad, but true, and there’s no use in sugarcoating it. However, it’s a bit ironic because the show hunter discipline actually originated from fox hunting and the most common breed of horse used in fox hunting, years ago, was the thoroughbred.

Try it out, ask Google to search for “horse breeds used in fox hunting.” The search will return a page that will have a wiki snippet at the top, stating the thoroughbred as a primary breed in the field. This is due to their flat-kneed movement, stamina and temperament, and it is precisely why the thoroughbred pioneered the show hunter discipline. Still, somewhere down the line we got too good for them and started to phase them out of the hunter ring, replacing them with fancy over-priced and imported warmbloods. Today, thoroughbreds have been shoved to the side to compete in classes specifically made for them alone. The breed can still compete in other hunter classes against warmbloods, but good luck trying to get noticed by a judge – they’re biased and nine times out of ten a judge won’t even consider a thoroughbred, even when it out-performs a warmblood. Shame on us for stooping this low.

The definition of equestrian, as per Merriam-Webster, is “one who rides on horseback.” Jockeys ride on horseback just as they do in hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage. Yes, they ride with shorter stirrups, but nonetheless they are still in a saddle sitting atop a horse. Therefore, jockeys are also equestrians and thoroughbred horse racing is just as much a part of equestrian sports as the other disciplines. So, why do these worlds seem to be universes apart? Why is there such a great divide between hunter/jumpers and racing? We all ride and we all love horses; we have much more in common than meets the eye. We should try a little harder to bridge these two worlds together. In doing so, not only will we create a stronger industry, we’ll make transitioning from the track to the show ring much less stressful for our horses and ourselves. Most importantly, we’ll be able to shine new light on the thoroughbred, re-establishing respect for the breed and its future off of the track.

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